After The End

Chapter V

The trees rustled in the wind. The grass swayed to the side as a slight breeze combed over each blade of grass, which by now, had overgrown drastically with no one around to take care of it. The sound of the ocean water hitting the rocks on shore was a distant sound that could be heard faintly. The sounds of the birds chirping and small mammals scurrying around on the ground, hidden from sight by the tall grass. Today was the first day that anyone could remember it being cold outside since the world ended. As Ronny and Thomas walked through the thick forest, Ronny listened for anything that sounded threatening. He said, "How far north did Omar say this was"? Thomas said, "Quite a ways. I think he said about thirteen miles". Ronny dreaded walking for so long. As they continued to walk, the sounds of the birds chirping ceased. Then the sound of a growl was heard as a biter appeared from behind a tree. Ronny quickly stabbed it and observed the dead corpse. It didn't have what Ronny was looking for. 

They walked a bit longer before they found themselves on a road. Just down the road a bit was a gas station that was likely used by hikers and truckers who drove on this road. Ronny said, "Think it's worth checking out"? Thomas replied, "Even if there's nothing in there, we still could stop there to take a break". They both walked to the gas station. As Ronny opened the door, it hit against wind chimes that gave out a loud noise. Ronny looked around to see if he could see anything suspicious. He slowly walked in and looked down the aisles for anything edible. Unfortunately, most food was either taken or moldy. Thomas walked into the gas station and headed for the back office to check it out. Ronny began to walk in his direction when suddenly, he heard Thomas scream as a loud thud was heard. Ronny looked at the back office and saw Thomas on the ground and a biter on top of him. Ronny quickly ran to his aid as he stabbed the biter. He then helped Thomas up and said, "The longer I'm with you, the less I believe you survived on your own". Thomas was displeased with Ronny's statement as he said, "I did! This one just happen to surprise me". Ronny said, "Well luckily for you, that was the only one in here. I just finished checking the rest of the building. So you don't have to worry about any more jumping out at ya". Thomas sarcastically laughed as he sat in the chair behind the counter. 

Thomas grabbed a pack of cigarettes as he pulled one out and lit it. With the cigarette in his mouth, he grabbed a one thousand dollar prize lottery scratch off ticket and said, "Let's see what I won". As he scratched off the powdery layer, Ronny looked outside to the forest as he now had time to reflect on all that had happened to him. He saw himself leaving Grace in the vault. He saw the group leaving Seattle and Zack's gun pointed in his face. Then he saw the girl he left for dead after he killed her friends. He was forced to relive Zack whipping Gavin, only to then see Jenny being stabbed by the same man. However, his anger was quickly extinguished as he remembered seeing Shaun in misery after he was bit. Looking back at it now, Ronny had seen the symptoms, he just wanted to get himself and Shaun to safety, or maybe he didn't want to believe that Shaun was really dying. Either way, remembering the gunshot that ended Shaun's life haunted him as shivers went down his spine. Suddenly, he heard Thomas say, "Oh, great! Of course after the world has ended, now I win one of these. Fuck it, I'm taking the cash anyways". He then opened the register as he stuffed a thousand dollars in his pockets.

Ronny suppressed his thoughts as he said, "Did that make you feel better"? Thomas said, "If money still meant something nowadays, it would've". Ronny chuckled as Thomas said, "So why did Omar send us out here"? Ronny said, "He didn't tell you what were doing"? Thomas said, "I don't know. Maybe". Ronny responded by saying, "Apparently, half of his group is on the northern part of the island and he wants us to check on them". "Why would they split the group like that? Especially since it's such a far distance" said Thomas. Ronny said, "I'm not sure, that's all I know". Ronny looked outside and saw a biter aimlessly walk by. Ronny said, "Did you notice that they didn't cover us in biter guts"? Thomas appeared to be shocked and disgusted as he said, "They do that"? Ronny said, "Yeah, when they sent me to look for a few of their people, they covered me in it to disguise me". Thomas's face went white as he said, "I've never heard of something so clever, yet so disgusting". Ronny imitated Omar as he said, "When we catch zizis, we use all of them, even the disgusting parts". Thomas laughed as he said, "They call them zizis"? Ronny chuckled as he said, "Yeah. It caught me off guard too when they said that. I much prefer the term biters". As they laughed, Ronny said, "Alright we better head out so we can get there and back before it gets dark out". Thomas took one final puff of the cigarette as he flicked it to the ground and headed outside.